


Spoken For

by PencilShrub



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 10:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17938196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilShrub/pseuds/PencilShrub
Summary: What should have happened.





	Spoken For

It was a mild night, fat rain drops splashed against the canvas roof. It must have been nearly 4 in the morning, the sky turning a softer shade of blue as the sun made its rounds. Arthur sat against the side of the wagon watching the surroundings slowly coming into view. In the wagon behind him lay two sleeping figures. Tilly's feet could be seen, still in boots, poking out from under a light horse blanket while Mary-Beth's soft head of curls was faintly rising and falling with the draft. Top and tail, the girls had sought some reprieve from last nights storm. 

"You're awake?" 

Arthur removed the cigar from between his lips calmly and looked back to see the faint outline of curls had risen from it's makeshift pillow. 

"It would appear that way." 

Mary-Beth smiled to herself as she watched him turn his back on her and resume a long inhale of smoke. Always dry and sarcastic. 

"Mind if I join you?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, for she had slinked out from under the blanket and come to sit beside him without waiting for a reply. 

"Sure" Arthur drawled with a smirk. They shared a brief silence, both watching the abandoned camp in front of them. 

"Still raining then" Mary-Beth offered as a conversation starter.

"Looks like it." Arthur grunted without diverting his gaze. "So, you couldn't sleep huh?" 

Mary-Beth pulled a shawl out from her bed, "where I'm from it doesn't rain that much. Always makes me kind of nervous when it does." She hugged the shawl around herself a regarded Arthur with a sidelong glance as he nodded and tapped the ash from his cigar into the breeze. 

A brief silence followed. Arthur seemed to be only half aware of her presence. 

"You know I never tried a cigar before"

"Is that so? Well I ain't afraid of sharing" Arthur leaned towards her slightly and gently placed the cigar against her lips, Mary-Beth taking a long (too long) drawl into her lungs. She stopped breathing for a second as she pulled away and tried to suppress a cough as she blew the smoke out. Arthur laughed at her genially as he took another puff. "How was it?" he asked between gritted teeth.

She pressed her throat and coughed lightly with a small tear forming in one eye. "A little strong"

They laughed together before Arthur pulled a hankie from his vest pocket and wiped her eyes. "Better stick to the cigarettes, hey?" 

"That may be a good idea." She sniffed. "Thanks Arthur." A pause. "You're ok you know?" 

Arthur feigned offence. "Ok? What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You know.. You pretend you're tough and mean but... You're ok." She shrugged with a smile. 

Arthur nodded and looked back at the camp. "Well if you think I'm ok then, well, that's ok with me."

They sat in silence then. They hadn't usually exchanged more than a few words so it was new territory to enter into conversation. Mary-Beth had always liked Arthur but she had also been a little scared of him. He was known for being moody, sometimes flying off the handle for no known reason. But he could also be gentle and kind if he wanted to be. It was probably that enigmatic change of personality that made Arthur seem so interesting and, Mary-Beth looked away slightly embarrassed as she recalled basing not one or two of her romantic hero's on the man since she started writing her little stories. 

"How old are you now anyways?" 

She rolled her eyes. "Why are you always askin' me that? You know it's not polite." 

Arthur found that amusing. "You're probably the only person on earth who would be surprised that I wasn't bein polite." He shuffled a little where he sat. "So are you, you know, are you spoken for?" 

Mary-Beth sat up a little straighter and he noticed her composure change. 

"I just mean that I ain't seen you around the camp with anyone in particular, that's all." 

She looked away from him a little defensively. "I'm just busy with my duties I guess." She winced a little. Damn it, he was probably gonna have a go at her now for how much reading she'd been doing lately. Everyone in the camp felt a little on edge when Arthur walked around. He tended to notice when you started slacking off. 

"Ain't nothing wrong with being busy. I just wondered if maybe... You ever thought of me?" 

Her posture changed again, more relaxed. She seemed to consider what he asked for a little too long. 

"Ah, forget about it. It's stupid, I don't know what I'm saying." 

"No, it's not stupid." She interjected. "Just... Let me think on it a while." 

Arthur nodded gently. "Alright then." 

Mary-Beth wasn't sure what to say now. She wasn't even sure she had to think about it too much. She pulled her hair over her shoulder so as to hide her face from Arthur as she couldn't help smiling. When she had the courage to look at him again she realised he was brooding over her silence, frown lines appeared in his forehead as he regarded his nearly spent cigar. She licked her lips gleefully as she relished that feeling of having power over a man, especially one as surly as him. She cleared her throat playfully catching his attention. (Ahem) 

"It sure is cold this time of night." She suggested with a faint blush. 

Arthur processed her statement for a moment before smiling lopsidedly "It sure is." He reached out and put his arm around her, pulling her to his side where she eased herself against his body and rested her head on his shoulder. He smelt of smoke, earth and old sweat but she didn't mind. She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled contentedly. The embrace of a man was one of the greatest pleasures in life that she knew of that came without a cost. 

She felt Arthur's hand press her side affectionately, "It's a shame Tilly's in here..." 

"Arthur Morgan!" She cried out playfully, punching him lightly in the arm but giving him an unimpressed look all the same.

He laughed and gave a signature, "I'm only playing with ya..." earning him a wary smile from Mary-Beth. 

She tossed her hair around and advanced on the man seductively. "You're right though..." She whispered close to his ear. Arthur was taken by surprise as she placed her mouth against his pulling him into a passionate kiss. She pulled away and giggled girlishly as his surprised expression. "I'm only playin' wit 'cha" She mocked.

Arthur gave an exhasperated sigh. "So it's like that is it?" He asked with a cocksure grin. 

Mary-Beth grinned slyly "I'm gonna enjoy teasin' you Mr. Morgan."


End file.
